QBasic isn’t a very useful language to understand today. If you’re interested in learning to program, you should look into a language like Java, or ActionScript, which will give you much better experience if you start looking into more heavyweight languages like C++ or C#.

But if those sound too complicated right now (and I know that feeling!) then QBasic is a good way to practice thinking about logic. The sample program in my post shows you all the basic tools you need – using PRINT to give instructions to the player, INPUT to take instructions from the player, and a combination of IF [...] THEN and GOTO to create loops and redirect the player around the program. You could try taking that example and extending it, to create a little interactive story?

If you want to take things beyond that, you should think about variables in your game – like “where is the player?” – and how to express them as numbers. This is where my big breakthrough came, when I started thinking about the player’s position as an X and Y co-ordinates. Then you can start using maths to model things… like, if you had a came involving combat, you can write lines like:

IF (health% < (maxhealth%/10)) THEN knockout% = 1

Which basically means "if the player's current health is below 10% of their maximum health, the player is knocked out".

I'll post my game, and the full program code, soon. And maybe add some notes to explain how it works.

So: ME trilogy for 24 hours. If you go over you are FAIL but MUST still play ’til completion. You shall restrict your diet in this time to something either 1. ME appropriate or 2. Your favorite Indian drink thus far, and your favorite Indian food thus far (NOT a complicated meal, that’s cheating – more like potato pakoras, or fried lychee, or whatever the heck they have over there. I could be terrible and tell you to eat Indian McDonald’s.)

After you have completed the ME portion of your challenge, you must procure a Dog appropriate for Dog Game and play with it for 8 consecutive hours. I have decided 8 hours because the dog play is only one component of your overall challenge, and you gave yourself 24 hours to complete 3 games, so I suppose 1 cute doggie = 1 ME game.

No you have not slept yet. Also during those 8 hours if you must eat it must be dog biscuits.

Finally, the third component of the challenge is of course the polishing off of Dog Game itself. Don’t tell me that “polishing off” is actually kind of insulting and that there’s a lot more to it than that. Get it done! During this part of the challenge I imagine you might have to go to work and sleep and things. To inspire you to stay on track however and not take actual breaks, you will eat nothing but hot dogs, drink nothing but Icees (the best American 7/11 counterpart), and wear a dog collar. The dog you had earlier will lead you around on walks.

Thus eventually you will complete your challenge, and probably the locals around you won’t have batted an eye out of politeness. You may even inspire some emulators and a boost in sales at the local dog collar store.

For more of an ACTUAL idea for epic marathonness that adds variety, since your three components are such huge chunks, see Tyler’s marathon challenge on teamliquid: http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=258172

Alternate ME play, playing with the dog, pakora/dog biscuit/hot dog eating, and Dog development. Right? Okay then. I tried to give input :p